Sophie, Kristine, and Amber are cousins. Sophie built a kitty toy empire which went up in flames one night so she is coming back to Blackberry Island to rebuild. In doing so, she gets to know her family again (and, as happens in Blackberry Island books, herself as well.)
Kristine is generally happy with her husband Jaxsen and her three boys but, as the boys are getting older, she's getting ready for something more. It's too bad that Jaxsen doesn't seem to want that for her.
Amber got pregnant at 18 and now relies heavily on her daughter, Heather, for everything. Heather is slowly drowning under her mother's needs. Amber has absolutely no idea how to function in the real world. She wants to leave but isn't sure that her mother will survive without her. Now her grandmother is selling the house Heather and Amber are living in and Heather is at the end of her rope.
Sophie wants to grow her business but isn't sure how. It's her whole life and she is in charge of every part of it to the point that nothing else is important to her. She doesn't want to get married again but is happy to jump into a physical relationship with the local tai chi teacher. But when it turns out that he might have a brain, Sophie isn't as sure about continuing a relationship with him.
And I wish we had seen more of the relationship building between the cousins, between Kristine and her husband, and between Sophie and Dugan. This book didn't feel like it went as deep into the female friendships that other books in this series have.
Three stars
This book came out February 11th
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin-Mira and NetGalley
Opinions are my own