A Sweethaven Summer

Title: A Sweethaven Summer

Series: Sweethaven Circle #1

Author: Courtney Walsh

Publisher: Guidepost Books

Genre: Christian Fiction, Contemporary, Romance

Source: Kindle Own

My Review: 

A Sweethaven Summer was Courtney Walsh's debut novel back in 2012! I can't believe I have been reading her for years and never read this novel. Now that I have rectified that, I look forward to continuing the series.

When I first read the synopsis and started reading the story, it gave off vibes of another book I had read that had a similar synopsis and story line, but, thankfully, this one was much better written, and other than sounding like similar books, it was executed very differently. Also, if you read the synopsis, it's wrong. The letters were not sent before Cambell's mother's death, and not all the friends returned to Sweethaven.

After the death of her mother, Campbell wants answers to her family history. Information that she did not have time to get before her mother passed away. Living with regrets and at a crossroads, Campbell heads to Sweethaven for answers. Campbell has no idea how this will change her life, and the lives of her mother's friends forever.

A Sweethaven Summer is told in multiple points. We get brief snippets of the past, interspersed with the present. The story is mainly in Campbell's POV as she tries to process her mother's death and find her father. The story is emotional and full of angst.

★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads): 

Campbell Carter has come to Sweethaven in search of answers about her mother's history. Just before losing a battle with cancer, Suzanne Carter sent letters to childhood friends from her hometown of Sweethaven, Michigan. Suzanne's three friends -- Lila, Jane, and Meghan -- haven't spoken in years, yet each has pieces of a scrapbook they made together as girls. Suzanne's letters have lured them all back to the idyllic lakeside town, where they meet Campbell and begin to remember what was so special about their long Sweethaven summers. As the scrapbook reveals secrets from the past, old wounds are mended, lives are changed, and friendships are restored -- just as Suzanne intended.