Helpful Score: 1
This book was vintage Delinsky! The predictable love story, but with very nice twists throughout. Easy reading, nice flow throughout the story. Delinsky choosing a hard subject to write about - MS - kept it cutting edge with her information on stem cell treatment.
This book delved into the complexities of friendship, and how it changes over time, the change often taking on a life of its own. The stress of being hurt by a close friend, with the outcome of forgiveness. It also covered the differences in love and the individual way in which each couple fits together having a shared union, elusive to all others.
The island was wonderful and someplace that you wished that you were also a life long resident and could be enfolded into the protection of those invisible boundaries.
When you pick up a Delinsky book you know what to expect and this one did not fail. Overall I give it 3.5 stars.
This book delved into the complexities of friendship, and how it changes over time, the change often taking on a life of its own. The stress of being hurt by a close friend, with the outcome of forgiveness. It also covered the differences in love and the individual way in which each couple fits together having a shared union, elusive to all others.
The island was wonderful and someplace that you wished that you were also a life long resident and could be enfolded into the protection of those invisible boundaries.
When you pick up a Delinsky book you know what to expect and this one did not fail. Overall I give it 3.5 stars.
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/07/sweet-salt-air.html
Childhood friends grown apart over time because of betrayals and secrets. A marriage stressed by illness and more secrets. A brooding mysterious man with secrets of his own. A beautiful Maine setting.
Charlotte and Nicole grew up together, close as sisters. As adults, their lives have taken different roads. Charlotte is single, a writer who travels the worlds for her stories. Nicole has achieved success of her own as a food blogger. She is married to a rising star physician. They reunite at Nicole's family home on an island off the coast of Maine to collaborate on a cookbook on island food. The island, Quinnipeague, offers a beautiful setting and its own cast of quirky character including Leo, a secretive somewhat reclusive man. Secrets emerge, relationships change, and by the end things come together.
This book has all the makings of a fun, easy summer beach read. Unfortunately, for me, it was not. For one, I guessed the big life changing secret early on in the book, and from there, it becomes too predictable. Predictability in and of itself is not so bad, but I also find myself not engaged with the characters. The best part of the book for me is the beautiful Maine setting.
Childhood friends grown apart over time because of betrayals and secrets. A marriage stressed by illness and more secrets. A brooding mysterious man with secrets of his own. A beautiful Maine setting.
Charlotte and Nicole grew up together, close as sisters. As adults, their lives have taken different roads. Charlotte is single, a writer who travels the worlds for her stories. Nicole has achieved success of her own as a food blogger. She is married to a rising star physician. They reunite at Nicole's family home on an island off the coast of Maine to collaborate on a cookbook on island food. The island, Quinnipeague, offers a beautiful setting and its own cast of quirky character including Leo, a secretive somewhat reclusive man. Secrets emerge, relationships change, and by the end things come together.
This book has all the makings of a fun, easy summer beach read. Unfortunately, for me, it was not. For one, I guessed the big life changing secret early on in the book, and from there, it becomes too predictable. Predictability in and of itself is not so bad, but I also find myself not engaged with the characters. The best part of the book for me is the beautiful Maine setting.
I enjoyed Sweet Salt Air. I don't typically read the genre in which the book falls, but I found it to be a pleasant change. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the plot, being your basic love story, and I was mesmerized by the setting. It's a good fast read and well written. Good book to pass the time.
This is a delightful book for summer reading. I also learned a great deal about MS and its treatment.
On Quinnipeague Island - just off the coast of Maine - hearts open up under the summer stars and secrets float in the sweet salt air. Nicole and Charlotte had once been the best of friends. Spending summers together at Nicole's island home off the coast of Maine was an idyllic time for both of them, but sometimes memories - no matter how sweet they are - cannot last. Too many years and too many secrets have begun to color the women's friendship and have succeeded in keeping them apart.
Charlotte is a successful travel writer who spends most of her time on the road. She is single, but is happy living as she does - on the road and out of a suitcase. Nicole is a food blogger who keeps house in Philadelphia; and she has been happily married to her surgeon husband Julian for the past ten years. When Nicole is commissioned to write a book about island food, she decides to invite Charlotte back for one final summer, to the place where the women had spent so many idyllic summers together - Quinnipeague, Maine.
To Nicole's mind, this could prove to be the perfect partnership between them. Outgoing and passionate, Charlotte has a gift for engaging people - talking to them and making friends with everyone she meets. Nicole could use her own expertise to interview the locals. So, dearly missing a genuine connection with her former best friend, Charlotte eagerly accepts Nicole's invitation.
Yet what both women don't realize is that they are each holding on to secrets that may change their lives forever. For Nicole, what comes to light could possibly destroy her marriage, but it could also help save her husband's life. For Charlotte, the truth could ultimately cost her Nicole's friendship, but the revelation could also give her a second chance to find love again. And Charlotte's second chance for love may lie with a reclusive local man, with a heart to soothe and troubles of his own.
First of all, let me say that I genuinely enjoy reading anything by Barbara Delinsky - she certainly can write an intriguing story and creates well-developed, sympathetic characters. Having said that, I must also admit that Ms. Delinsky has a tendency to be a bit of a hit-or-miss author for me. Perhaps I have mentioned this before, but some of her work seems slightly over-written and tremendously - if minutely - detailed.
This particular story was certainly interesting and an enjoyable reading experience for me. However, I would also say that it was slightly longer than I thought that it needed to be to tell the story. In my opinion though, this story was still well worth reading. I would still give this book a definite A!
Charlotte is a successful travel writer who spends most of her time on the road. She is single, but is happy living as she does - on the road and out of a suitcase. Nicole is a food blogger who keeps house in Philadelphia; and she has been happily married to her surgeon husband Julian for the past ten years. When Nicole is commissioned to write a book about island food, she decides to invite Charlotte back for one final summer, to the place where the women had spent so many idyllic summers together - Quinnipeague, Maine.
To Nicole's mind, this could prove to be the perfect partnership between them. Outgoing and passionate, Charlotte has a gift for engaging people - talking to them and making friends with everyone she meets. Nicole could use her own expertise to interview the locals. So, dearly missing a genuine connection with her former best friend, Charlotte eagerly accepts Nicole's invitation.
Yet what both women don't realize is that they are each holding on to secrets that may change their lives forever. For Nicole, what comes to light could possibly destroy her marriage, but it could also help save her husband's life. For Charlotte, the truth could ultimately cost her Nicole's friendship, but the revelation could also give her a second chance to find love again. And Charlotte's second chance for love may lie with a reclusive local man, with a heart to soothe and troubles of his own.
First of all, let me say that I genuinely enjoy reading anything by Barbara Delinsky - she certainly can write an intriguing story and creates well-developed, sympathetic characters. Having said that, I must also admit that Ms. Delinsky has a tendency to be a bit of a hit-or-miss author for me. Perhaps I have mentioned this before, but some of her work seems slightly over-written and tremendously - if minutely - detailed.
This particular story was certainly interesting and an enjoyable reading experience for me. However, I would also say that it was slightly longer than I thought that it needed to be to tell the story. In my opinion though, this story was still well worth reading. I would still give this book a definite A!
This story had me captivated from the first page to the last page.A lifetime friendship between two women,and the secret that was kept for so many years. The physician husband who is handling having MS was a wonderful co-plot. Barbara Delinsky never fails to bring a fabulous story to the pages!
