This is an easy read. Nothing profound, and the writing is flat. The characters are flat. The emotions are flat. The story is good. But I enjoyed navigating the sisters' present while learning about their complicated past.

Thank you to Harlequin Publishing and NetGalley for the early ARC of this book.
Don't judge this book by its cover. This book is complex. It is the journey of two sisters who find their way back to each other after unspeakable trauma bonds them together forever.
The book takes place 15 years after the Howell sisters were rescued from a cult camped deep in the mountains. After losing their mother, their father had fell down a slippery slope of conspiracy theories and ended up falling in with the wrong people. His daughters were beaten, starved, and forced to marry before they were old enough to vote.

Not only do they survive the ordeal, but both of them seemingly are able to thrive in their adult lives. It isn't until Ava writes a best selling memoir detailing their experience, that their relationship starts to unravel. Not wanting to relive the experience, Madison feels blindsided and hurt by her sister.
As both women are forced together by proximity, they must learn to communicate with each other, trust each other, and forgive.
There are multiple POV's which only add depth and perspective to the story. The author does a beautiful job of using small excerpts of Ava's book before each chapter. It was a creative way to tell the girls stories without releshing in the gory details.
Madison and Ava both have their own love stories weaving throughout the story and it only made the story that much more intriguing and complete.


The author shows how each sister finds their voice and strength in the midst of great tragedy. They find family, love, and hope. This was a great, unexpected read.

"15 Summers Later" by RaeAnne Thayne is a heartwarming story about two sisters, Ava and Madison, who are trying to reconcile their past and move forward in life. Ava, who seemed to have it all, is back in her hometown of Emerald Creek, Idaho, after her husband leaves her due to a secret from her past. Madison, on the other hand, is happy with her life as she runs a no-kill shelter for animals and is in love with the town veterinarian, Dr. Luke Gentry.

However, their past comes back to haunt them, and they must confront their demons together to remedy the rifts in their lives. The book is a beautiful portrayal of sisterhood, forgiveness, and second chances. The story is well-written, and the characters are relatable and likable. The author skillfully weaves in the themes of love, loss, and redemption throughout the book, making it an emotional and engaging read.

Overall, "15 Summers Later" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good family drama with a touch of romance. RaeAnne Thayne has done an excellent job of telling a story that is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming, leaving readers with a sense of hope and optimism."

This was a great read!!! It took me a while to get into, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. A refreshing story full of love and forgiveness!

I truly couldn’t put this book down. It’s a wonderful story about resilience and family bonding. The author did an amazing job embedding details of Ghost Lake. The short blurbs before each chapter move you to the core. I actually wished I could read Ghost Lake to experience the beautifully written story about the tragedy the sisters went through. And it’s imaginable. The experiences in Ghost Lake bring a reality of the current times to light…The conspiracy theories, the quiet marriage struggles that the girls desperation. I would definitely recommend this book! Thank you again NetGalley!!!! This one did not disappoint.

The family dynamics are not only believable but well-written bringing to the forefront the need for understanding, compassion, and forgiveness between sisters. I enjoyed the book from the very first chapter as RaeAnne writes the chapter headings from the heart of the sisters’ shared horrors fifteen years before the story takes place, and then proceeds in current time to offer readers a glimpse into the intricacies of sibling drama and family loyalty and love. You will not be able to put this story down!! Loved it

I just reviewed 15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne. #15SummersLater #NetGalley. Just going to start off by saying, I am a fan of RaeAnne Thayne and this book did not disappoint. From the first word to the last word, I was fully engaged with the story. The characters were very likeable and the plot was enjoyable.

Oh my goodness! Can I give this a 10?? Wow! This story is going on my favorite list! It has it all!! Romance, loss, relationship problems, family issues and second issues. Thiss emotional story is about two sisters and their trauma as children and how it affects their future lives. RaeAnne Thayne does am excellent job in writing all the details of these two sisters story. I highly recommend you add this to your list to read. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this early copy.

Great “pack in your beach bag” read. It’s got some family drama, a little romance and lots of adorable rescue animals. I did get a little bored at spots so I think it could’ve used some more editing to park the story down but I still loved it and have already recommended it to a few other readers.

2 sisters that endured extreme trauma growing up navigate their lives 15 years later after one sister publishes a book about that trauma.

Based on the cover, you would think this is a beachy read, but I did not get that vibe at all. It is a lot of drama and overcoming trauma. I had trouble feeling the chemistry between both main couples. And it was a very slow burn.

The BEST part about this book is that one of the sisters runs an animal rescue and there is lots of talk about the animals and puppies. I could have read those parts all day. It was more the love story that didn’t connect for me.

I also enjoyed the passages before each chapter that were from the book about their childhood trauma.

Overall, I would say this is good but lacks a “wow” factor.

This book presented a unique plot with likable characters, yet it fell short of fully engaging me. While there were no major dislikes, the narrative felt disjointed with three distinct storylines that didn't seamlessly converge. Additionally, the abundance of details about animal rescue overshadowed potentially more compelling themes like the trauma of the sister's past or the love storyline. Despite this, the book wasn't inherently bad, but rather didn't align with my personal preferences.

This book follows three characters POV; Madi, Ava, and Luke. Madi and Ava are sisters who went through something horribly traumatic in their childhood. They escaped and unfavorable situation that left Madi with physical issues permanently. Luke was a friend of the family and had a large part in their story. Years later Ava is having marital issues with her husband Cullen after publishing a highly popular book about their traumatic childhood and also put an even deeper wedge between the two sister's relationship.

This book immediately had me curious about everything everyone had been through. I absolutely loved Ava. She was my favorite character and my heart constantly broke for her with everything she's been through and with how Cullen and Madi kept treating her.

I understand Madi's need to not have the story be told publicly but she was incredibly inconsiderate and selfish in my opinion. Luke however was an absolute sweetheart.

It was a tumultuous journey they all went through to end up where they did at the end and to see vividly how they all navigated the issues and overcame trauma was heart warming.

This book was beautifully written.

I felt like the title and cover of this book were very misleading as they portray the book as a mindless beach read.

Beyond the cover/title confusion, the story was pretty much what I expected: a sweet romance in a small town with a tidy ending, some soul-searching, and the bonding of two sisters. This book screams "Hallmark Movie." Personally, though, it didn't quite grab me. There weren't any big surprises or moments that really got me thinking. The only real shock was finding out the sisters were kidnapped by a cult, but even that felt like it wasn't given enough attention.

There were also some problems with the way the book was set up and a bunch of typos and mistakes in the text.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my debut read by this author and I'm now wondering why I have never read any of her books before! This book has left me wanting to read all of Thayne's work.

What did I love about this book? To begin with, I felt like I knew the characters from the first page. They were easy to relate to and seemed very realistic of small town residents. These people could easily be my neighbors.

I also enjoyed the flow of the story from one chapter to the next and how it kept my interest. I also liked the way the chapters changed from character to character throughout. It kept the story fresh and interesting.

While reading this book I kept thinking of Debbie Macomber and how the writing was so similar to hers. How, the same as with her books, you could just escape to another place and enjoy time with characters who quickly grow on you. Fans of Macomber's books are sure to love Thayne's books just as much.

This is definitely a book I will recommend. I will also be adding RaeAnne Thayne to my must read list!!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion which I have given.

Only RaeAnne can weave a love story with this much beauty. I loved this tale and look forward to more from this author.

What a beautiful story that touches on so many difficult themes!

For the first quarter or more of the book I will say I was bothered by a few things. I didn’t love the change in perspective. It was too surface level for me at this point, but I also remember thinking “just give it time… it might shake out”

And it totally did.

I was also far more intrigued by the actual Ghost Lake book than 15 summers later. I wanted Ghost Lake! But we got enough information by the end that I was aptly satisfied on both accounts.

My biggest complaints don’t have to do with the book or writing itself, but the cover and marketing. I feel like the cover has nothing at all to do with the story, and the “feel-good beach read” subtitle does not line up for me.

It’s a lovely, lovely read and I will recommend it to many people. But I think that both of those are not accurate for the book itself!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review.

This book was good, however I would not consider it a romance. It focused heavily on the drama from two sisters and their past trauma. Madi, one of the sisters didn’t get much of a romance and aspect until quite literally the last chapter. On the other hand, Ava, her sister, was married, but the chemistry she had with her husband was awful. They were not good together, and honestly he was kinda rude about the whole situation with the book. What happened was probably hard to talk about, and it was probably hard for her to write the book to begin with, and for him to be upset because he didn’t know all the details was annoying. Anyway, the cover is quite misleading. I did love the animal rescue and that aspect, but the rest of it did not make me feel good, and I was expecting so much more romance from this, and it just did not satisfy me in that aspect. It was more two sisters trying to heal from extreme trauma and come together, rather than getting with a man.
Overall, it was good. The characters were fine, the plot was fine, but it just failed as a romance.

A wonderful book delving into the relationships between sisters and how they deal with traumatic events. Sisters, Ava and Madison, had to survive an unthinkable situation after their mother died. Their father became involved with a survivalist cult and took the teen girls to live In isolation in the mountains with the cult. After Ava’s forced marriage the girls escaped. Years later Ava writes a best selling memoir detailing what had happened. Madison feels exposed by the book and this caused a rift between the girls. This book deals with the healing emotions between sisters and how trauma effects peoples lives. Fascinating read about survival, healing and love

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

This is a beautiful and emotionally driven story about two sisters (Ava and Madison) who have endured extreme childhood trauma. This trauma intertwined their lives with the Gentry family. Ava writes a memoir about their experience, which Madison is very upset about. This memoir becomes a best seller and ends up putting a wedge in Ava’s relationship with both her husband and sister. This is a novel about love, forgiveness, and healing.

I loved how the story was told from 3 different perspectives (Ava, Madison, and Luke Gentry).

I loved this book first because of the animal content. I loved that the love interest was a vet. I think the issues between the sisters and the healing that happens through the book was vital for the story. I do think the husband walking away was a cop out but I get it needed to happen so she could go home and be with her sister. All in All this was. avery cute summer read and a lot of fun.