On a Coastal Breeze (Three Sisters Island Book #2)

On a Coastal Breeze by Suzanne Woods Fisher has Madison Grayson, newly licensed as family and marriage therapist, setting up her practice on Three Sisters Island, Maine. Maddie is optimistic and happy until she learns the identity of the new pastor who happens to be parachuting onto the island (talk about an entrance) on the day she is opening her practice. Rick O’Shea tormented from kindergarten through her senior year of high school. Maddie hopes she can avoid him, but that is hard to do on the postage stamped sized Three Sisters Island. Blaine is returning home for the summer after a year at culinary school. She has news for her father that Blaine knows he will not take well. Cameron is busy submitting grants to fund the self-sufficient, renewable energy program she wants to implement on the island. When Cam is working on a project, she makes it her sole focus which can be detrimental. On a Coastal Breeze is the 2nd novel in the Three Sisters Island series. While it can be read on its own, I recommend reading On a Summer Tide first (it is fabulous). I thought On a Coastal Breeze was well-written with developed, realistic characters on a beautiful island. There are some delightful quirky residents with my favorite being Peg Legg who runs the Lunch Counter and is the island’s mayor. I just love Three Sisters Island. It sounds like a great place to live. I can certainly understand why Cam wants the get the island its own energy source with the electric cutting out every day for hours at a time. The focus of On a Coastal Breeze is Maddie, but we catch up with Cam, Blaine, and Paul as well. Blaine is known for not finishing what she starts which worries her father. The author touches on a delicate subject which I thought was handled very well. I am eager to read Blaine’s story in the next Three Sisters Island novel. I enjoyed the humor in the story (I love a book that makes me laugh). I liked the flashbacks into Maddie’s life. It allows us to see what transpired between Rick and Maddie when they were kids as well as to understand Maddie’s feelings. My favorite thing in On a Coastal Breeze is the little duck that takes a fancy to Paul. As Paul said, some men get a dog as their faithful companion, he gets a duck. Fear is the main theme in On a Coastal Breeze. We see how fear affects each member of the Grayson family. My favorite line is, “All of life is a risk.” The only thing I found disappointing was the wedding scene (you will find out why when you read the book). On a Coastal Breeze is a delightful and touching novel with culinary catastrophes, an uneasy youth, funding misfortunes, a charismatic clergyman, decision dilemma, and a doting duck.

Sometimes a chapter does change an entire book! The Lord will complete what his purpose is for me. Lord, your gracious love is eternal; do not abandon your personal work in me. — Psalm 138:8 Once again the author has drawn such a beautiful picture of Three Sisters Island and Camp Kicking Moose that I am almost envious of those who get to live there! This book centers on Maddie, the middle sister, however, the rest of the family is certainly not left out of the narrative. Cam is totally into her efforts to make the island self-sustainable as far as energy is concerned, sometimes to the detriment of her relationship with Seth and Cooper. Blaine, returning from her first year of culinary school, does not want to continue - once again struggling with finishing what she has started. Paul, their father, seemingly has his own struggles. In all, this book had me doing a great deal of reflective thinking. How easy it is to quit before you get started, or be so involved that you forget those that are important to you! Maddie’s new career as a therapist perhaps precipitates this deep thinking through her dealings with her clients. Each of these wonderful characters seems to be dealing with fear of some kind. Will they manage to face those fears and move on? This second book in the Three Sisters Island series can stand alone, but the depth of these characters will leave you wanting to get to know them better. In fact, I am already anxiously awaiting the next book! This digital copy was received through Baker Publishing Group, Revell books, NetGalley and CelebrateLit. All comments and impressions are my own and were not solicited.

I was so excited to be able to read this book. I was blessed to read the first book in the series, On a Summer Tide, and couldn’t wait to get back to Three Sisters Island. In the first book you meet Maddie, Camden, and Blaine. Three sisters who aren’t a lot alike, but love each other anyway. I would recommend the first book because it introduces you to a host of fun and unique characters. That being said you can easily read this book as a stand-alone novel as well. On a Coastal Breeze focuses on Maddie, the middle sister who also happens to be the glue of the family and a newly licensed therapist. Maddie is finally settling in to life on the island. Recently her dad bought a camp he had went to when he was a teenager, and the sisters helped him reopen it for buisness. Last summer went great, and now she can focus on being the therapist she’s trained to be. That is until someone from her past drops in from the sky and ends up working in the same building as her. Ricky was the one person she least expected to see, and him showing up as the new pastor without warning causes more than a little anxiety. Can Maddie and Ricky learn from, and get over their past and start again? I loved seeing the chemistry between Maddie and Ricky. It was fun seeing little snippets from their childhood and getting to know what shaped them into who they are today. Woods Fisher kept my interest the whole time, and I had fun guessing what Ricky could have done to Maddie in the past. I enjoyed seeing Camden, her son Cooper and her fiance Seth, and watching them grow and mature as well. I can’t wait to get my hands on Blaine’s story! I kept finding myself wishing I was reading on my kindle so that I could highlight some of the passages. Woods Fisher wrote some great lines and I enjoyed the little snippets of Ricky’s sermons. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian Fiction. I had a hard time putting this book down once I picked it up, and enjoyed every moment. I received a copy of this book from Revell Publishing and was in no way forced to post a review. All opinions expressed are my own.