REVIEW: SWEET LAKE, BY CHRISTINE NOLFI

 

 

Family traditions, especially those involving a family business, can make for lifelong competitors.

Such is the case for Linnie Mayfair and her older brother Freddie.

Treat and Sarah Mayfair did not realize that they were creating a less than loving relationship between their son and their daughter. They thought they were doing what was right for the business and for the family. The family trust was structured in what they thought was a sensible way, but Linnie doesn’t agree. Can she learn to finally ask for what she wants and needs?

Sweet Lake is a charming tale set in small-town Sweet Lake, Ohio, and the Mayfair Inn is the family business which Linnie has been managing since her father’s stroke. When he turned the management over to her, and she began to slowly improve things, she had the expectation that she would retain control indefinitely. Her parents’ move to Florida seemed to reinforce that belief.

Then Freddie did something truly deceitful that further exacerbated the bad feelings, turning Linnie and Freddie into bitter enemies. Can Linnie ever forgive him? How will she manage to turn the inn into a thriving business when Freddie does his worst?

It might take a village to untangle the mess. How do the charming Sweet Lake Sirens, a group of midlife to elderly women, come up with a plan to bring the siblings together? What will Linnie’s secret admirer Daniel do to aid in the cause?

I love family drama, and there was more than enough keeping me turning these pages. I wasn’t sure how it would be sorted, but I knew that I was rooting for Linnie…and also hoping for a romantic connection between her and Daniel.

The author showed true-to-life characters with real life issues…and then offered us a glimpse of the characters struggling to make things right, just as real people would have to do. By the end, I was happy to learn that another book will follow. I am eager to revisit them all. Even Freddie. 5 stars.

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