REVIEW: LOST & FOUND SISTERS, BY JILL SHALVIS

 

After losing her sister in a devastating car accident, chef Quinn Weller is finally getting her life back on track. She appears to have it all: a loving family, a dream job in one of L.A.’s hottest eateries, and a gorgeous boyfriend dying to slip an engagement ring on her finger. So why does she feel so empty, like she’s looking for a missing piece she can’t find?

The answer comes when a lawyer tracks down Quinn and reveals a bombshell secret and a mysterious inheritance that only she can claim. This shocking revelation washes over Quinn like a tidal wave. Her whole life has been a lie.

On impulse, Quinn gives up her job, home, and boyfriend. She heads up the coast to the small hometown of Wildstone, California, which is just a few hours north, but feels worlds apart from Los Angeles. Though she doesn’t quite fit in right away, she can’t help but be drawn to the town’s simple pleasures…and the handsome, dark-haired stranger who offers friendship with no questions asked.

As Quinn settles into Wildstone, she discovers there’s another surprise in store for her. The inheritance isn’t a house or money, but rather something earthshattering, something that will make her question everything she thought she knew about herself, about her family. Now with a world of possibilities opening up to Quinn, she must decide if this new life is the one she was always meant to have—and the one that could finally give her the fulfillment she’s searched so long for.

 

My Thoughts: Unsettled by the bombshell news she receives at the beginning of Lost and Found Sisters, Quinn will struggle to accept the secrets of the past and develop connections she had never anticipated.

Wildstone feels like the kind of story book small town, in which news travels quickly from one hour to the next, and the people who live in the town feel friendly and warm. Except for the ones who are not.

Quinn is a likable character, and I had to admire how she dealt with everything, especially the most unexpected aspect of the lawyer’s news.

But as she begins to feel at home with her new normal, she also has to learn that not everyone in small town life is kind. Not everyone has good intentions. But with the love of her own team of supporters, she finds a way to fill the empty spaces inside. She finds a way to start over. A lovely story of building a family, overcoming the past, and making new connections. 4.5 stars.

***