A clean beach read that shares some powerful truths, Summer by the Tides is a quick-moving tale about the courage it takes to face the past and love in spite of our fears. Hunter is incredibly gifted at creating characters that readers connect with deeply. Her newest offering is no exception. She weaves a sweet romance through the complexities of family secrets and the reality of a young woman finding her footing in her faith. This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys women's fiction.

I received a copy of this novel from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. All expressed opinions are my own.

3.75 stars
Summer By the Tides is a light, feel-good romance with a positive message of faith and a healthy dose of reality. This story focuses on three somewhat estranged sisters, each with a unique past they are struggling with, who come together to search for their missing grandmother on the shores of the small coastal town of Seahaven, North Carolina. Connor, the helpful neighbor and local marina and restaurant owner, alerts the sisters to the grandmother’s disappearance, but we quickly learn that this was mere subterfuge for a greater purpose.

The story primarily focuses on Maddy, the youngest sister, and her relationship with Connor, the “boy next door”. Judging him based on preconceived and misguided first impressions, she quickly learns how wrong she is. As the story continues, she struggles to learn to trust her instincts once again, to believe in love despite relationships that have failed, to step out in faith, and to grant forgiveness. The story also encompasses the other two sisters and the concept of flawed family. There is a clear message that people fail. We all make mistakes. We are flawed. But we are also called to offer grace, forgiveness and to hope anew, and move forward seeking the good in life, because it’s there if we open our eyes and hearts to it.

This story is a quick read, and while delving into deeper topics, it is still light fiction and somewhat predictable. There are a few tropes and cliches that I’d rather do without, but the overall message is an important one. And in my opinion, Denise Hunter is queen of quaint small town settings and characters you want to befriend. It’s a simple, sweet, uplifting story that is worth reading.

Maddy and her estranged sisters receive calls stating that their grandmother is missing. As they each, unbeknownst to the other, return to their grandmother's home, they each return with secrets and sorrows and pride that makes it difficult to share with their sisters. Romance, forgiveness, vulnerability, and pride mingle together in this real-life novel. This isn't a lighthearted novel, but it isn't difficult to read. It IS difficult to put down once you begin reading it! There are twists and turns until the VERY end of the story as unexpected secrets are revealed every step of the journey. Great book!

Summer by the Tides is definitely soap opera worthy. Maddy Monroe and her family experience a wide range of storms both literally and figuratively. Observing her family's ruined relationships, and personally experiencing betrayal, has left Maddy with the firm opinion that love is not worth the trouble. On top of all that, Maddy has placed God on the shelf, vaguely aware of Him, but not interacting with Him.

Connor Sullivan, Maddy's grandmother's neighbor, contacts Maddy and both of her sisters with the news that their grandmother is missing, drawing all three to Seahaven, the vacation home of their youth. Once the sisters all arrive, it is obvious that they are not one big happy family. While Maddy takes an immediate dislike to Connnor, they do find a way to work together when out-of-work Maddy's management skills are needed at his restaurant. Despite the friction between them, Connor is drawn to her, the first woman who has caught his attention since his wife's death three years earlier.

If you are a fan of the soaps or have fond memories of watching them with your mom or grandma, you will enjoy Summer by the Tides. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"It's not the how, Maddy. It's the Who."

Denise Hunter has an amazing ability to grab hold of your heart and imagination no matter what topic or setting she writes about. This newest release has three sisters converging on their grandmother's seaside cottage in North Carolina while they search for their grandmother who has gone MIA, and all three are broken, hurting, and insecure. There is plenty of backstory to the tension that suffocates the sisters and, though this is not a suspense novel, the pieces of the backstory that slowly come together via flashbacks had me turning the pages with anticipation. The dialogue is fun and lively, the characters are deeply layered and multi-faceted and so lovable, and the writing is easy to read. If you are a fan of contemporary romance, you will love this book.

Maddy, our heroine who has been hurt by her ex-boyfriend, is jobless, direction-less, and hopeless as she tries to figure out what happened to her grandmother. She's fun, creative, and motivated but wary of strangers and doesn't trust easily. She's also the peacemaker within the sisters and the strained relationship of her older two sisters makes things even worse as they all worry about their grandmother. Connor, the swoon-worthy neighbor next door, has also seen his share of pain and hurt and chooses to bury himself in work and helping those around him. He's the one who calls the sisters together when he realizes that his elderly neighbor is missing and he and Maddy get off on the wrong foot from the beginning. But as they spend more time together, Connor's overwhelming charm, honesty, loyalty, compassion, and steadfastness help Maddy re-evaluate her first impression. The encouraging theme of granting and accepting forgiveness as well as overcoming fear with love is prominent in the story.

Don't miss this awesome summer read! I am hoping for a Hallmark movie from this book....
I received a copy of the book from Thomas Nelson and via Celebrate Lit Tours and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.

Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter. A new to me author.. I enjoyed this coming together of family, possible romance. What I call a beach read. Each characters had issues from the past/present and are trying to get along. Will they overcome their issues and come together? I look forward to checking out more books by this author.

(4 stars) - emotional melodrama but really well done

This is my first read by Denise Hunter, though I've previously noticed the popularity of her books & had her on my TBR list hoping to eventually check out her work, so I was quite happy to have an opportunity to do so.

The characters are all well defined (though the secondary ones are perhaps a bit 2D), and it is easy to care about their fractured family.

Maddy is easy to relate to, & Connor is absolutely wonderful though perhaps a little too-good-to-be-true. I loved the way their relationship developed and the effort they made to be honest with each other at the outset.

The one point I struggled with that I wish had been better clarified was understanding how Nora could have betrayed Emma in the 1st place. I suppose I can concede the apparent occurrence of "we were in it before we even knew it had begun". However, that Nora continued & kept it hidden even while the wedding was still being planned is disturbing - what were they planning to do about it before Maddy spilled the beans?

The story is built on Christian themes relating to honesty, trust and forgiveness. It gets to feeling soap opera-ish as hurricane related drama comes hard on the heels of family secrets being poured out one after the other, but the characters & dialogue remain plausible even as the quantity of complications began to instill some doubts.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Clean romance level: passionate kissing
Religion: Some minor discussion of Christian relationships with God and prayer. Nothing preachy.

A great christian romance that also includes a mystery. This book was about second chances and the importance of family.

This was a beautiful book. I feel like it was the perfect combination of inspirational romance and women's fiction. Hunter's depth in all of the relationships was amazing whether they were the sisters, romantic relationships, or just family in general. I was truly amazed at how many feelings there were throughout. I found myself close to tears, laughing, and swooning at various points.

One aspect I especially liked was how important honest communication was especially between Connor and Maddy. It would have been so easy for them to gloss over the important conversations, but they didn't and it made the story that much deeper. Of course, I liked it when they stopped talking and communicated on other ways too!

The family dynamics of three siblings separated by many years was very interesting. My husband and his siblings are that way. I saw many similarities from his life. It gave the book a unique spin. I also really appreciated how forgiveness was the theme throughout. It is a common theme in Christian and inspirational fiction, but I never felt like it was the same old story. I liked the new perspective.

I enjoyed all aspects of this book but I'm still swooning from the romance. Hunter is a master of her craft!

I received an advanced copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley. This is my honest review.

What a great story!
Three estranged sisters join forces to find out what has happened to their missing grand mother. To add to the tension a hurricane is closing in on them.
I won't spoil the plot for you...but I will tell you that the three sisters have very different personalities. Each has shown up in Sea Haven, North Carolina for their own personal reasons under the guise of helping to find out what has happened to their grandmother.
The reader is swept along in a story about discovery. The three sisters unravel their family history and find that things aren't necessarily as they remember them.
It wouldn't be a Denise Hunter book without a great romance. This one has an intriguing romance that unfolds slowly through the course of the book.
I hope you pick up a copy of this book, perfect for a day on the beach.

Summer by the Tides is the most emotional intense book I have read by Denise Hunter. It is a study in family relationships that spill over into the romantic relationships that the three sisters have. I was intrigued by how the generations of the past influenced the present. It was not just how the sisters interacted when young but also the ones who came before.

Written in an easy to read style, Ms. Hunter tackles some not so easy to live with issues. The three granddaughters are brought together when their grandmother is seemingly missing. While not planned by the grandmother, God used this to crack some hard exterior shells to get to the women’s hearts for healing to finally happen. Along the way, Maddy finds something that she is afraid to grasp with both hands; love, true lasting romantic love.

As well as being an emotional rich story, it is also the most compelling read I have read written by Denise Hunter. The missing grandmother, the coming storm, the glimpses into the past, the sisters who haven’t spoken in twenty years and the secrets that all seemed to have made it an attention holding read. The fact that the setting was spot on with the North Carolina coast was an added bonus for this Carolina girl.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “Summer by the Tides” by Denise Hunter, May 2019

Denise Hunter, Author of “Summer by the Tides” has written an entertaining, and emotional family drama. The Genres for this Novel are Fiction, Women’s Fiction, and Family Drama. The story takes place in Sea Haven, North Carolina. The timeline of the story takes place in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events. The author describes her characters as complex and complicated.

Maddy Monroe gets a phone call that her Grandmother is missing from her home in Sea Haven, by a neighbor Connor Murphy. Maddy has just had a betrayal from her boyfriend and loses the job that she loved as well. To make matters worse, Maddy finds out that Connor called both of her estranged sisters.

Maddy is no stranger to betrayal. Her family has also had issues with betrayal and secrets that are the cause for Maddy’s distrust of men. When both sisters see each other, there is terrible tension and animosity. Maddy hates being the one in the middle. The most important task at hand is to find where their Grandmother is.

Connor has been a wonderful friend and neighbor to their grandmother and continues to offer his help. Maddy finds herself drawn to Connor, but dreads that it will only be another disappointment in her life.

I appreciate that the author describes the importance of family, friends, love, and hope. I would recommend this novel for those readers who enjoy dramatic suspense.

Summer by the Tides is the perfect summer beach read! Denise Hunter is a favorite author of many contemporary romance readers because of her swoon-worthy characters, her captivating storylines, and her ability to weave the characters’ faith seamlessly into her novels. Summer by the Tides focuses on the estrangement between the Monroe sisters, but there is still plenty of romance in the novel that fans of Denise Hunter will love. This is a story of forgiveness, new beginnings, and finding true love.

The three Monroe sisters (Maddy, Nora, and Emma) all rush to their grandmother’s beach house in Sea Haven, North Carolina after her neighbor Connor Sullivan calls and tells them that their grandmother is missing. Betrayal from long ago still haunts the estranged sisters as they work together to find their grandmother. Despite initially disliking each other, sparks begin to fly between Maddy and Connor, but Maddy is afraid of heartbreak and struggles to trust again.

Connor Sullivan is not the typical hero of Denise Hunter’s, with his long golden hair often tied back and his scruffy face. Maddy initially thinks that Connor has the careless look of a beach bum, but he quickly finds his way into her heart. This handsome, swoon-worthy character will definitely find a place in readers’ hearts everywhere. New revelations and shocking family secrets come to light that the readers will not expect.

Readers of women’s fiction, contemporary romance, and fans of authors such as Beth K. Vogt, Robin Lee Hatcher, and Becky Wade will love this highly recommended novel by Denise Hunter. For readers who have never read a Denise Hunter novel, this is the perfect opportunity! You will not be disappointed!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Once again Denise has written a great book and I loved how it wasn't focussed on romance, while there was romance themes it was really focussed on sisters rebuilding their relationships and forgiveness. As one of three girls I can't imagine not being close to my sisters and I liked how this book gave me another perspective on my family dynamic.
While I will say this book focussed on Emma and Connor, I didn't feel that Nora and Maddy were left out and enjoyed how their struggles were also focussed on. There is definitely a lot more to their stories than I first thought and I enjoyed seeing how their stories were all intertwined and tangled.
I also like it when books have a setting that has played an important in the history of the characters and Sea Haven was a place where there was a deep history with the characters while also being a neutral ground for them to move forward on.
Overall it's a great read and I found it was the perfect beach holiday book and I loved every chapter of it.

When her grandmother goes missing from the family beach house, Maddy and her estranged sisters converge in Sea Haven, North Carolina. Being with uptight Nora and free-spirited Emma in the home where their family broke apart is a struggle Maddy is not in the mood to face, especially since she’s recovering from her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal.

As the sisters wait for word of their grandmother, they begin to pack up the family belongings—and unpack memories of the idyllic summers of their childhood. But with those memories come long-buried secrets, and Maddy discovers that all was not as it appeared that last summer in Sea Haven. Meanwhile, Gram’s neighbor, Connor Sullivan, seems overly interested in Gram’s whereabouts. Maddy is drawn in by his quick smile and steady gaze in spite of herself.

Undercurrents of jealousy and resentment threaten to pull the family under again, maybe for good this time. As tensions rise, the sisters must find a way to accept each other for the women they’ve become—and Maddy must decide if falling in love again is worth the potential heartbreak.

Maddy has trust issues when it comes to men. All the men in her life has betrayed her in one way or another. Her most recent boyfriend was using her to get the job that she was promised. Her sisters fiance betrayed her sister by marrying their other sister. Then she meets Connor when she finds out her dad had a secret life.

This was a good book. In a way I found it kind of sad that all the heart ache of the sisters was caused by people not honoring their commitments to each other. Unfortunately that happens a lot. But over all I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

I was given this book by Thomas Nelson Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

My Review of Summer By The Tides

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, fiction.

My Rating: 2 and 1/2 stars.

My Recommendation: 16-18 up, Warnings below.

My Favorite Character/s: Pffff, I don't know . . . I loved Connor and his story was so heartbreaking. He was my favorite I suppose. Like I liked him a lot but I felt that the ending ruined the whole story because it was so fast paced.

My Verse for Connor is James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. (King James Version.)

My Thoughts: I enjoyed the beginning of this book but I didn't like it for long since there was so much cheating . . . I'm pretty sure that there were only two guys of all of the ten guys that had ever been in the sisters and their grandmother's life that had been faithful to their girlfriend/wife. It took so much enjoyment from the story. I so badly wanted to like this story but I just couldn't.

Warnings: A lot of things . . . Mentions of divorce, cheating, and a man being married to two women at once. Ugh, why do 'Christian romances' have so much trash?

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and am truly happy to provide it -- all the thoughts are my own.

I love love love this book! I love Denise Hunter's books and this was no exception. It was difficult to put down. The characters and their situations felt real and I love that they were able to get past their sufferings, keep persevering despite their fears, and develop their characters.

Denise Hunter has once again created a compelling story with great characters. There are two stories going on in Summer by the Tides. One focuses on the dysfunctional relationship of the Monroe sisters (Maddy, Emma, and Nora). The other focuses on the romance between Maddy and a jewel of guy by the name of Connor Sullivan. There are some contentious moments between Maddy and Connor when they are first getting to know each other that caused me to laugh out loud, but as they spend time together, a beautiful love story unfolds. The characters are believable and lovable. It's a delightful book and definitely worthy of five stars. I received an ARC through Netgalley; however, I have pre-ordered it to add to my personal library.

Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter is part family drama and part sweet romance.

Conner, the next door neighbor, calls all three sisters when their Grandmother is gone for several days. He is not aware that they are estranged. However it is unusual that each of the sisters doesn’t seem to mind staying to go through the house once they realize what has happened to the grandmother. Their reasons are revealed as the story progresses.

I loved how Maddy got the wrong impression of Connor from the start. That was a fun part of the story when she realizes how wrong she has been and apologizes.

The grandmother takes a secondary role but she is entertaining and you will like her. Connor and his family dynamics were also a great addition to the story.

Denise elicits all kinds of emotions from readers as the history of the sisters and their family is revealed. In addition, the women have to deal with their current issues. Denise packed this story full of drama and emotions.

I received this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review.
You can see my full review at More Than a Review dot com where I rate the level of sex, violence, language and drug/alcohol use in books.

A new Denise Hunter is always a treat and Summer by the Tides doesn’t disappoint! Our leading lady, Maddy, begins the book distraught about a break up with her boyfriend and her week gets worse when her dear grandmother goes missing! Compassionate and emotional, Maddy is easy to empathize with and connect to.

Her two sisters join Maddy at her grandmother’s home at the sea and the family tension crackles as they attempt to overcome past betrayals and grief. Family is never simple and it’s intricacies are elegantly handled in this novel. There is no black and white merely perspective and Maddy can see all the different viewpoints so she gets stuck mediating! The reader uncovers the history of the family as it becomes relevant to the modern day story. Blame, guilt and forgiveness are complex topics to be tackled by Christianity but Denise conveys the principles beautifully.

There’s romance in the air but as the back cover gives nothing away neither will I! It is a delight though, full of humour and vulnerability. Each character brought into the story is fleshed out and interesting. At the end, I was sad it isn’t the beginning of a series (as far as I know…)!

From the start, this is a wonderful escape into a seascape full of family drama and love! I thoroughly enjoyed it, it’s five out of five on the en-JOY-ment and I highly recommend it!